


Secret Santa

by itmightgetweird



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Marvel Universe, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 17:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13217931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itmightgetweird/pseuds/itmightgetweird
Summary: This was part of a writing challenge on tumblr. My prompt was: they did secret Santa at work and I got you and I have no idea what to get you so I’m pretending that I’m not stalking you when I am and I learn all these cute things about you.





	Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I suck at updating this site as soon as I post on tumblr. Don't hate me pls

 

> December 15, 2017
> 
> To: ALL
> 
> Good afternoon everyone!
> 
> Just a couple reminders: First, we are planning to close up by 2PM on the 22nd to give everyone time to prepare for the company party that night. Second, it’s the last day to pick names for Secret Santa, so stop by the front desk before the end of the day to choose your person! The gift limit is $30.
> 
> Let’s have some fun and finish the year strong!
> 
> -Pepper Potts, VP

  
You closed the email with a groan. Secret Santa gift exchanges were the worst. Okay so that was an exaggeration, but you always put unnecessary amounts of stress on yourself trying to think of the Perfect Gift. And even after the stress and wracking your brain, you still sometimes missed the mark.

Your noise of displeasure caused your desk-neighbor to stand up and peer at you over the divider between your work stations. She propped her arms up, pouting at you when you turned your chair to face her. “Are you already being a Scrooge?”

You rolled your eyes. “I suck at giving gifts, Wanda.”

“You do not.”

“Socks.” The single-word reply came from the desk on your other side, and you groaned again.

“Nat, you said your cat kept destroying yours!” you defended.

The sound of a rolling chair preceded the appearance of your other neighbor as she peered around the partition to you. “I can buy my own socks, sweetie.”

“And so I stand by my statement! I struggle enough with what to get the two of you, and now I have to buy something for some random person here that I probably know little to nothing about.”

“Gift cards are always a good default,” Nat said.

“But they’re so impersonal!”

“Well it’s either impersonal or lame.”

A small paper ball flew at Nat before Wanda spoke again. “If time is running out and you really cannot think of anything, I’ll help you out.”

“I’m sure I’ll need it,” you mumbled, turning back to your computer to resume your work.

When the end of the day arrived, the three of you gathered your things and passed by the front desk to grab your Secret Santa names before leaving to start the weekend. You let your friends pick first, while you silently hoped you’d choose someone you at least knew a little. When it was finally your turn to reach into the bag, you held your breath as you grabbed a slip of paper and pulled it out to read the name.

Your face heated up as you saw the name staring back at you. Of course. Of course he was the person you chose. He was at job sites more than in the office, but he always managed to stop by and say hello when he passed through, and you always managed to stumble over your words in return. The only saving grace was that he never drew attention to it–so either he was a complete saint and wanted to save you the embarrassment or he was just completely clueless that he had that effect on you.

You were so lost in your thoughts that it took you a while to realize your friends were saying your name.

“Don’t leave us hanging. Who’d you pick?” Nat asked with a smirk, as if she just knew this was going to be interesting.

Your voice sounded much quieter than you’d intended it to when you answered. “Steve Rogers.”

Nat couldn’t hold back the laugh that tumbled from her lips after your answer. “Oh, that’s perfect!”

“Why do you enjoy my pain?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Wanda said as she draped an arm over your shoulders. “It is perfect. If he likes your gift, you can reveal it’s from you. Maybe it’ll start up a conversation.”

You scoffed. “That’s a pretty big ‘if’ though. I hardly know anything about him besides the fact that he’s unnecessarily attractive and that my brain goes on vacation when I have to talk to him!”

“You could ask someone in his department? He’s been friends with Wilson and Barnes for years,” Nat offered.

“I’m not giving Sam more reasons to pick on me.”

Wanda hummed. “Everyone’s on Facebook–maybe try that?”

When your only response was a sigh, Wanda tightened her arm around you and Nat linked her left arm through your right one. “Operation: Tall, Blond, and Handsome is officially underway.”

You whipped your head sideways to look at the smiling redhead next to you. “Natasha, we are not calling it that.”

“Oh, we so are. Your mission for the weekend, should you choose to accept, is to brainstorm. Think of what you know about him, make a list, and we’ll reconvene on Monday.”

* * *

The weekend passed quickly and you still had exactly no idea what you could get Steve. You were hoping your friends would give you a break with the teasing, and you’d successfully avoided talking to them about it until you went to get a refill of coffee and they cornered you in the break room.

“So, what did your research tell you?” Nat asked, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.

“Basically that I’m doomed. Wanna trade names?”

“No way, my person’s super easy to shop for.”

A soft chuckle sounded from Wanda as she watched the two of you. “Why are you doomed?”

“His Facebook is very professional.”

Nat raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

You made a vague motion with your hands, almost spilling the coffee you’d just poured. After a small huff, you placed the mug on the counter and crossed your arms. “There’s not really anything there outside of some nice pictures of him with his work team. The few statuses he posts talk about projects he’s working on.”

“What about Instagram?” Wanda offered.

“I don’t think I can do this; I’m just gonna get him a gift card.”

“Oh no,” Nat said with a shake of her head. “You’re not doing that. You’ve been drooling over that man for months so now you have a chance to shower him in affection and you are going to do so.”

Your head shook in disagreement. “It’s not gonna play out like that! I’m gonna think for hours and be convinced I’ve got a winner but later I’ll find out it was the worst gift ever and he’ll just end up thinking I’m the lamest person on Earth.”

“Aw, no one in their right mind would think you’re lame,” a new, deeper voice sounded from behind you.

There was no time to stop the surprised squeak you made as you turned toward the new arrival. “Steve!”

He chuckled as he made his way over to where you and your friends were standing. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Once the initial shock of his sudden appearance wore off, you felt a slight panic as you wondered if he’d heard any other parts of your conversation. When all he offered was a kind smile before turning his attention to the coffee maker, you guessed you were in the clear.

And of course, your mind decided to take a break too, so you just stood there in silence instead of making conversation like a normal person.

When he turned back toward you, a small crease formed on his forehead, accompanied by a look of slight concern. “Are you alright?”

“Huh?” Hello, brain! Get with the program! “Oh! Sorry, I guess the caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet?”

“Party too hard this weekend?” he asked with a wink.

“Oh yeah, my dog and I are real party animals,” you replied, your cheeks warming a bit as you blushed. “I mean, well, literally for her but… y'know, whatever.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. “You have a dog?”

“I–yeah, I bought a puppy a few months ago.”

“That’s awesome! I’ve got a puppy too, maybe we could–”

“Sorry to interrupt,” another new voice said from the entrance to the break room. You looked over to see Bucky, his attention on Steve and an apologetic look on his face. “The truck’s loaded up.”

You looked back at Steve in time to catch the slight shake of his head. “Duty calls. It was nice chatting for a minute. See you ladies around.”

You didn’t even realize your coworkers were still there. When you turned to face them, Wanda and Nat both had matching, wide smiles on their faces.

“Were you both just standing there awkwardly while I stumbled through a conversation?”

Natasha giggled as she went to leave the room. “Oh, you’ve got it bad; we were talking the whole time and you didn’t even notice.”

Your eyes widened as Wanda grabbed your cup from the counter and handed it to you. “You did not stumble; you were fine. That is progress.”

* * *

The television played Home Alone quietly in the background as you sat curled up on your couch with a glass of wine and your puppy. You’d had a goofy little smile on your face ever since you saw Steve that morning, one that Nat and Wanda were quick to point out at various parts of the day.

Feeling a new surge of motivation, you grabbed your phone and opened the Instagram app, grinning again as you found his profile. Then you almost dropped your phone when you started scrolling through pictures.

Was it actually possible to drool over this guy more than you already did?

You thought he looked good at work in his dark jeans and nice shirts, but he looked even better in all the candid and casual pictures. He favored tighter-fitting t-shirts–which you were not complaining about in the slightest. You already knew he was built, but the shorter sleeves gave you an unobstructed view of biceps and holy shit, did he have nice arms.

Then there was his puppy–an adorable, fluffy mutt named Ace. So that was discovery number two, you really dug a guy who loved his dog.

There were pictures of paintings he’d created, medals for races he’d run, a picture of the chaos that was his sketchpad, and more…

You let out a huff as you tapped your phone off and tossed it onto the coffee table. This exercise was supposed to help you learn more about him so you could figure out an awesome gift. Instead you were just falling for him more.

* * *

“Thanks for the Instagram tip,” you said to Wanda the next morning.

She looked up from her computer screen and smiled. “So did you think of something?”

“Um… well, no? Not really. I just creeped on him like a dork.”

“Don’t be silly. What did you learn?”

You thought for a moment, sorting through what you remembered of the pictures you saw. “It’s unfair how adorable he is?”

When Wanda simply titled her head and smirked, you continued.

“He’s artistic; he paints and draws and he’s amazing at it. His puppy is super cute and he likes to take him to parks where he can run around. He goes to breweries. He runs in half marathons with Bucky and Sam. He–oh! I got it!”

“I’m so proud of you,” Nat said, making her way to the two of you as she walked into the room.

“He posted a picture of his headphones’ cord that always gets really tangled. How about wireless earbuds?”

Nat wiped an imaginary tear from her eye and smiled. “Wanda, they grow up so fast!”

* * *

Friday was a whirlwind of a day. You went into work a little earlier than normal, a small box covered in metallic green wrapping paper hidden inside your purse. After making sure no one was around Steve’s desk, you walked over and placed the box in his chair before leaving the room again.

As you walked back to your desk, you wondered if he’d like it. Would he try to guess who it’s from? It sat in the forefront of your mind for about an hour until you distracted yourself with work and before you knew it, Wanda and Nat were pulling you away from your desk so you could all leave to prepare for the party.

“Stop worrying; you look hot,” Nat said from her position on your left as the three of you walked into the conference center where the party was taking place.

Back home, you’d been standing in front of the mirror for twenty minutes making minor tweaks to your hair and makeup, and trying to convince yourself that the dress you chose looked alright. You rolled your eyes as you looked over at her. “I look like I’m trying too hard.”

“You do not. Don’t be ridiculous,” Wanda chimed in from your other side.

While there was still a bit of doubt that lingered over your attire, you honestly couldn’t have asked for better coworkers and friends. They were always there to reassure you when your uncertainty surfaced, and they were always genuine with their compliments. So you decided to try to push that thought deep down and hide it away so you could enjoy the party.

The room was gorgeous–twinkling white lights hung from the ceiling and gave the room a soft but beautiful glow. There were tables along one length of the room, covered in white tablecloths and red accent pieces. The center of the room was open as a dance floor and some of your other coworkers were already out there enjoying themselves.

As soon as you’d placed your clutch and phone on one of the vacant tables, Wanda said she was going to get drinks and wandered off toward the open bar. A few moments later, Bucky was standing next to the table, asking Nat to dance. She stalled at first, casting a hesitant look in your direction, until you practically shooed her away.

You were only alone for a couple more minutes before a drink was placed on the table in front of you.

Thankful you weren’t alone anymore, you released a happy sigh and reached for the alcohol. “Thanks, babe. You haven’t by chance seen–Steve!” you gasped as he sat down in the seat Nat had been in moments before.

“Babe, huh?” Steve said, an amused smirk on his face.

“I, oh um, I thought you were Wanda,” you mumbled.

He chuckled quietly. “I might’ve intercepted her on her way back. You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Well, thank you.” You felt your cheeks grow warm as you tried to fight the urge to look away. “You look pretty good yourself, Rogers.” After a quick glance back at your drink, you raised your head to look him over–he was handsome as ever in his black pants, white shirt, and black tie. And wait, was he actually blushing too?

He cleared his throat and straightened up in the seat. “So, did you get anything good from your Secret Santa?”

“I did. It’s probably the softest blanket I’ve ever touched in my life,” you said with a smile. You wondered if this was his way of hinting that he’d figured out that you were the one who left the gift on his desk. Guess there was only one way to know for sure. “Did you?”

“Yeah, some pretty nice wireless headphones. I was getting really tired of untangling my old ones and the cord gets really annoying when I’m jogging so they’re perfect.”

“Well that’s good to hear.”

“Any idea who gave you the blanket?”

“Not a clue. Someone who knows I like naps?” you replied with a quiet laugh. “Do you know who gave you the headphones?”

He looked away for a brief moment, as if in thought, before he answered. “Could’ve been Bucky. God knows he’s heard me complain about the tangled cords countless times. Maybe it was Banner, because he has some that are similar and I was asking about them a couple weeks ago. Or this girl in accounting who always strikes up conversations when she sees me.”

“Maybe…” You wanted to chastise yourself for actually sounding a little bummed as he guessed about the gift-giver.

“But I’m actually pretty sure it was the cute girl in the marketing department that sits at the corner desk between Wanda and Natasha.”

Your head snapped up to look at Steve, and there was that amused grin on his face again. “What?”

“Sam said he saw you walking away from our desks this morning. And a few days ago, you might’ve liked a really random Instagram post from a couple months ago… a picture of my old headphones in a tangled mess after I pulled them out of my pocket.”

Your hands flew up to cover your face, muffling your words when you spoke again. “Oh man, I’m a dork.”

Steve laughed and reached toward you, gently pulling your hands away from your face. “It’s not such a bad thing to find out the girl you like is stalking your social media accounts.”

“Oh my God, Steve that is not helping,” you said, but the laugh that bubbled out of you took some of your embarrassment with it.

“Thanks for the headphones, doll,” he said softly and it was then you noticed he was still holding onto your hands. “There’s a cute little café down the street that’s open late, would you want to stop by for coffee after the party wraps up?”

Wow, your friends were right–picking his name  _was_ a perfect way to start up a conversation. They were never going to let you live that down.

“I’d love to."


End file.
